A fellow blogger, meli-mello, tagged me with eight questions. Since our angel baby has decided to take three-hour naps in the morning this week, I have some time on my hands.
1. Is there anything you’ve ever eaten that was so delicious that you think of it and go kind of misty-eyed to this very day? Mm. I love the grilled calamari at Cafe Ferreira and we once had a perfect meal at a restaurant in Stockholm called, if I remember correctly, Restaurant. But the one thing that immediately comes to mind is the heaping plate of fried fish (probably sardines or some similar small fish) that I ordered on a family trip to Europe when I was 15. It wasn’t delicious. It was horrible. So horrible. It looked like a plate of french fries with eyes. Beady eyes daring me to eat them. I think I managed three bites. Gah.
2. Are you a city person or country person? Half and half? Why? I guess I am half and half. Although my teenage self would argue that being in the country is so boring, I love being surrounded by woods, or on a lake, with nothing to do but read books and sit in a hammock. Perhaps I enjoy it so much because it is so different from our life in the city.
I suppose in an ideal world I would like to raise my kids in the country until they are school-aged and then spend the weekdays in the city and live in the country on weekends and holidays.
3. You know how, before you actually have kids, you have all these parenting principles (”I’m going to home-school/make all the clothes/never buy junk food/bury the tv in the back yard”), and then when you actually have to raise a kid/kids, you end up kind of abandoning said principles? Do you have any of those? Do you feel guilty? Liberated? Indifferent? We don’t let Amelia watch TV (although she is allowed to play with the iPhone — with the phone/wireless turned off) and we are pretty strict about our bedtime routine (we don’t let her stay up late even if there are people over or we are out somewhere). I gave up on the “no pink” rule because it is a) impractical b) the girls look cute in pink. I don’t feel guilty about it but I do try to make sure to tell both girls how pretty/cute/nice they look no matter what they are wearing, after reading somewhere that girls want to wear dresses all the time because they get more compliments. I’ve gotten more lax about letting Amelia have some sugar (ice cream, the odd cookie or small piece of cake) but I do try to limit it.
4. What’s the loveliest place you’ve ever traveled? Could be wildly exotic or comfortingly local. The island of Kauai was spectacular, as was the Isle of Skye. But if I could choose one place to return to I think it would be Switzerland. Everything about that country is breathtaking.
5. Okay, same as Sigrid: Laundry tips? Please? I hate doing laundry. Or, rather, I hate folding and putting it away. I must have tried 15 different brands of eco-friendly washing detergent and I still haven’t found one kind that gets the job done every time. Oh, and I find that dryer balls work well enough that we no longer use dryer sheets.
6. Do you have a life plan, or do you just sort of truck along? I’m not one for setting hard and fast objectives, such as being married or attaining a job salary/position by a certain age. I thought I would go to law school after getting a liberal arts degree until I stumbled into publishing. I never imagined that I would travel the world to play Ultimate or spend two years living in NYC to get a master’s degree. On the other hand, I have known for many years that I wanted kids and that I wanted to stay home with them for as long as possible. As Melanie said, there are things that I want to do in my life but I do not have a definite plan.
7. Would friends of the teenage you recognize the current you? Would you still get along? I am not sure how to answer this question. I am still friends with a bunch of people from elementary and high school. Does that count?
8. Any novels to recommend for an almost-seven-year-old girl? What were your favourites? Which are you looking forward to sharing with your own kid(s)? I can’t wait until the girls are old enough to be able to sit through chapter books. The Secret Garden, The BFG, Matilda, Island of the Blue Dolphins, A.A. Milne’s books, E.B. White’s The Trumpet of the Swan, Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little are a few that come to mind.
I am not really one for tagging people. But it’d be cool to hear what Marie-Eve, Amy and Julie have to say.
I’ve given up on the “no pink” rule too since it seems unavoidable – and Moira loves pink and purple anyway. Her one grandmother has only had boys as sons or grandsons until Moira was born and so I have to let her indulge in some of her girliness for a while – as long as she continues to follow the “no tv” rule. :)
I’ve never been to the Isle of Skye but I would love to someday.
Still not 100% sure we’re having a girl but I do have some kind of a “not a lot of pink” rule in my head and you guys are making me nervous. Thanks Alison, I’m up for it!
Heh, heh, heh…
I had a similar fish experience in France. Except Thank G-d it was my mother who ordered them not me, all those eyes!!! yuuuuccckkkkkkk